Energy security is defined as uninterrupted availability of energy sources as affordable prices. The modern world relies on a vast energy supply to fuel everything from transportation to communication, to security and health delivery systems. Any country’s economic fortunes are tied to the sharply fluctuating international price of oil.
Energy Security in the long term can only be achieved by reducing dependence on any one source of imported energy by exploiting native resources like fossil fuel reserves or renewable energy.
• The import volume of LNG into the country was estimated to be around 21.69 million metric tons in the fiscal year 2019 amounting to near about INR 65,264 Crores
• India being a major agriculture producing country, has a huge potential in producing Biomethane as equivalent to Natural Gas, hence, can reduce dependency on imports and be self sufficient.
• It is estimated on calculations that at least 25 billion [m.sub.3] of biogas is potentially available from current patterns of biomass use.
• Fossil fuel, derived methane which is available only in limited amount, where as, biomethane is a renewable source of energy available endlessly.
REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS
If used as vehicularfuel , Compressed Biogas , upgraded to the quality of CNG, a clean burning fuel , can significantly reduce greenhousegas.
Compared to Diesel, Natural Gas emits:
1. 99% Less Sulphur Oxide (0.005% OF Diesel)
2. 80% Less Nitrogen Oxide (18% of Diesel)
3. No heavy particles
4. No soot Particles
5. Carbon Reduction by 20-30%
BIO-CNG has the potential to reduce GHG emissions by 70-80% when compared with gasoline on the basis of CO2EQ produced per km.
PLAGUING ORGANIC MATTER AND AGRICULTURAL BURNIN
The amount of worldwide methane emissions from agricultural production comprises about 33 % of the global anthropogenic methane release. Animal husbandry alone comprises 16 %, followed by rice fields of 12 % and animal manure of 5 %. Further, Landfill sites contribute 20% of the global anthropogenic methane emission.
• Instead of this vegetable waste, agriculture residues, animal excrement etc. are processed in a biogas system, in a close and controlled environment, the methane is captured, optimised and utilised to produce renewable energy, thus mitigating methane emissions that would have otherwise escaped from landfills or manure lagoons.
• Reduces risk of contamination and pollution of water, soil and air by organic
CARBON REDUCTION
In order to understand the benefits of biogas and biomethane production, it is necessary to understand the concept of “short carbon cycle”. Unlike natural gas or oil, biogas and biomethane are produced from fresh organic materials. These are themselves derived from biomass, directly (agricultural residues, intermediary crops, green waste etc.) or indirectly (sewage sludge, manure, some biowaste). During its growth, this biomass has captured a certain amount of CO2 from the atmosphere in order to do photosynthesis. This captured CO2 is returned to the atmosphere during the combustion of biogas or biomethane, and then captured again by the newly growing biomass, and so on. The combustion of biogas or biomethane does therefore not increase the amount of CO2 present in the atmosphere but it makes it circulate in short carbon cycles. We are thus talking about biogenic CO2, as opposed to fossil-based CO2, which is released after millions of years of storage underground and was previously not accessible
PERMANENT DECARBONISATION
During the biomethane production process, a big part of the biogenic carbon from the atmosphere in the digested biomass finally ends up in a highly concentrated CO2 Stream after biogas upgrading.
This concentrated stream has many applications such as reuse in industrial applications and processes such as new construction materials thus achieving the permanent removal of carbon from atmosphere.
BIO-FERTILISER
The biogas is generated from any type of organic waste like animal dung, food and kitchen waste, agricultural and industrial organic waste. The methanogenic microbes break down the complex organic matter, thereby, producing biogas and digested sludge. This sludge can be used as bio fertiliser, which has significantly more advantages, when compared to chemical fertilisers or using the organic matter directly
Since, the bio-fertiliser is already broken into simplest forms, the crops and plants can readily use it without any further conversion. It has the right amount of C/N ratio for the plants to use it optimally. Further, it also increases the yield of the farm. It is odour less and mitigates the risk of spontaneous emissions of CH4 and CO2 lying in the open.
When compared to chemical fertilisers, bio fertiliser contains organic carbon, potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus etc, where as, chemically produced fertilisers mainly comprise of sulphur, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium etc. Although, using chemical fertilisers give a good yield instantly, it reduces the soil fertility significantly. Chemical fertilisers are also the main reason for water and soil pollution, where as bio fertilisers do not pollute in any way. Further, chemical fertilisers have an adverse affect on human health causing problems like skin diseases, cancer etc. Using bio-fertiliser eliminate all these risks and on the contrary are organic and good for human health.
